Stand Up For the One You Love
by Lycosolen
Summary: AU of the scene where Michaela, Connor and Asher go to Oliver's apartment to talk to him in 3x11.


**Author's Notes and Warnings:**

If you loved Michaela's attitude in the scene where she talked to Oliver in his apartment in 3x11, then I suggest not to read this.

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I absolutely disliked that scene. I didn't think she was a "bad ass" woman then; she sounded creepy to me and like she was talking to a child. She demanded Oliver's help, but she threatened him while doing so, and she implicated him even further in what is going on.

While I do want Oliver to be more implicated, for the sake of the show and because I'd prefer Connor and him had no more secrets between them, I do believe that scene could have gone another way. Having said that, I don't hate Michaela, but I strongly dislike her right now; I couldn't even enjoy any scene she was in after that one and I don't know if I'll ever be able to like her again.

So I wrote this very short thing to get all of that out of my head so I could finally move on from the feelings of being pissed off at Michaela and a little bit at Connor (I do think he didn't try hard enough to defend Oliver in that scene).

So… while it's obviously okay for other people to have a different opinion about this (and, like I said, I know mine is kind of an unpopular opinion), I would politely ask not to receive flames for this. I don't mind discussing about it, but I don't want to fight about it.

If you're still reading this, than good reading… hopefully!

* * *

Michaela, Asher and Connor were at Oliver's apartment, against Connor's judgment. The young man didn't want Oliver to be even more implicated into their "little cover up/murder mess", and the way Michaela had talked to him before at Bonnie's house, he didn't think this talk she was going to have with his… Oliver… would go so well…

And boy was he right! His bad feeling rose up immediately when his friend told Oliver to sit down. Why was she talking like that to him, as if Oliver was a child or something? And where did that creepy tone came from?

Connor was actually kind of surprised by Michaela's speech. He had thought her and Oliver had some kind of friendly relationship before, until he heard her talking like that. And when she started saying things about how Sam had deserved it, when Oliver had just said he didn't want to know anything else, Connor just snapped.

"Michaela! Can I talk to you for a second?" he said abruptly, ignoring Asher's wide-eyed look.

"Not now, Connor!" the young woman answered harshly, turning her head towards him.

"Yes, now!" Connor replied, taking a step forward and putting his hand on her arm, gently forcing her to get up. "Outside!" he continued, his eyes shining with determination.

After staring at him hard for a few seconds, Michaela wrenched her arm out of his – albeit – light grip and walked towards the door of the apartment, opening it up and going into the corridor. Connor went to follow her, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him softly.

"Connor…" Oliver whispered, almost too quietly. "Don't."

The older man was standing up, looking worried, his grip getting more insistent on Connor's shoulder.

"It's fine, Ollie," the other man said on the same tone. "I just want to clear some things up."

He turned once again towards the door, feeling Oliver's hand fall along his arm as if the other man didn't want to let go, and walked out in the corridor where Michaela was waiting impatiently, shutting the door on his way out.

"Connor, what the hell is wrong with you?!" the young woman exclaimed, her hands going up in the air for a moment before stopping to lay on her hips.

She looked fierced and angry, determined not to let anyone get in her way, even if that meant hurting people that had – not exactly, but still – nothing to do with what was happening. Well, maybe Connor hadn't been the most courageous person lately, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let Oliver suffer for it.

" _What the hell is wrong with me?_ What is wrong with _you_?!" he almost yelled before remembering there were actually other people around, in their own apartment.

"Connor, I'm trying to protect us, so we don't go to jail. Seems like I'm the only one who's willing to do that right now."

"By threatening Oliver?! Are you out of your mind?" he said, furious. "I'll admit, I probably shouldn't have told him anything; that's on me. But… I was tired, Michaela. I _am_ tired of lying to him, making him feel like he's always on the outside, like I can't…"

Connor took a breath and sighed, looking away from his friend, tears beginning to shine in his eyes. He swallowed hard against the lump that was lodged in his throat.

"One of the reasons why he broke up with me is because he felt I was hiding things from him all the time… which I obviously was. I mean, what could I have said? 'Hey, Ollie, me and some other students covered up two murders'."

"Be quiet!" Michaela whispered, looking around furtively, frustrated and afraid that someone would hear them.

"But you don't understand that, do you?" continued the young man. "You can't, because Asher already knows our secret; hell, he's actually a part of it. Wes and Laurel… it was the same thing. But me… No, I had to lie everyday to the man I loved about everything, knowing he would probably go to the cops and/or leave me if he figured it out, because isn't that what any sane person would do?"

He took another breath before continuing.

"I might not look or sound like it, but I'm scared too. But, most of all, I just want this to stop. I _need_ this to stop."

"By going to jail? Connor, going to prison will only make things worse for all of us. Have you thought about your mother and sister, and what it would do to them? What about Laurel, huh? She's pregnant, for God's sake! You want her to have her child in prison? What about Asher and me? Have you thought about any of us?"

Connor sighed, closing his eyes for a second before looking back at Michaela.

"No, I haven't. I know I'm being selfish right now. I… I don't know what to do, okay? But threatening Oliver is out of the question. You want his help, try to be nice. He's not to blame for any of this. And I don't care what you or what Bonnie says; if anything happens to Oliver, I'm going to the police myself."

Michaela seemed to deflate a little. She looked at Connor more closely; he was kind of pale, which made his wounds on his face stand out a little more, and when she looked down, she saw his hands were shaking softly before he crossed his arms in front of himself.

"By some miracle, after everything, Oliver is still here; he seems to still want me in his life, one way or another. I… I _need_ Oliver if… if we're going to do… whatever we're going to do," Connor finished in a whisper.

His eyes were still shining, but there were no tears on his face. The young woman sighed and nodded gently.

"Alright, but no more talk about going to jail, okay?"

Connor nodded in turn, his shoulders sagging, letting some of the weight he had been carrying fell off of them.

Both of them went back into the apartment, where Asher was trying to make small talk to a stressed – and a little annoyed – looking Oliver. When the door opened to let the young students in, the older man's eyes immediately went to his… Connor.

The other man swallowed and nodded to him before stepping closer to the hacker. Michaela shut the door behind them and went to sit down in front of Oliver again, but this time with a little less creepiness and aggressiveness in her attitude. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Oliver, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked to you like that before. I'm just… really stressed out right now and, I know, it's not an excuse, but… we really need your help. So… will you help us, please?"

Oliver turned his head towards Connor again. The young man wasn't looking at him; actually, his eyes were closed and he seemed so fragile right now, with his arms hugging his chest as if to protect himself. Knowing his decision had already been made for him a long time ago, he turned back to Michaela and asked:

"What do you need me to do?"


End file.
